Opened in January 2016, this F.E.E.D. TX restaurant group outpost shut its doors March 12, 2017. Island Grill will replace it.

Little Liberty

Location: 2365 Rice Blvd.

Opened in January 2016, this F.E.E.D. TX restaurant group outpost shut its doors March 12, 2017. Island Grill will replace it.

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff

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Houston bars & restaurants that closed in 2017:

Skinny Rita's Grille

Location: 607 W. Gray

This health-conscious Tex-Mex restaurant closed its second Houston location after opening it in March 2016. The original location at 4002 North Main St. is still open.

Skinny Rita's Grille

Location: 607 W. Gray

This health-conscious Tex-Mex restaurant closed its second Houston location after opening it in March 2016. The original location at 4002 North Main St. is still open.

Photo: Courtesy Yelp

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Houston bars & restaurants that closed in 2017:

Houston Texans Grille

Location: 12848 Queensbury Lane

On the heels of Houston hosting the Super Bowl, this popular CityCentre spot closed its doors for good. The CityCentre bar operated there since 2012. It was licensed with the NFL, in order to use the official Houston Texans logo.

The upscale Tex-Mex spot closed April 1. It originally opened in March 2015.

Anejo

Location: 1180-1 Uptown Park Blvd.

The upscale Tex-Mex spot closed April 1. It originally opened in March 2015.

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff

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Houston bars & restaurants that closed in 2017:

Sullivan's Steakhouse

Location: 4608 Westheimer

This location of the popular steakhouse is closing May 23. It's operated by the Del Frisco's Restaurant Group.

Sullivan's Steakhouse

Location: 4608 Westheimer

This location of the popular steakhouse is closing May 23. It's operated by the Del Frisco's Restaurant Group.

Photo: Sullivan's Steakhouse

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Houston bars & restaurants that closed in 2017:

Up Restaurant

Location: 3995 Westheimer Road

Closed for remodeling is what the sign outside the door says, so hopefully it will make a revival. Although the business' social media sites are down, calls were not returned and outlets are reporting that it's permanently shuttered.

Moku Bar, known for its innovative take on the Hawaiian raw fish dish poke, replaces the ramen restaurant at downtown's food hall, Conservatory.

Samurai Noodle at Conservatory

Location: 1010 Prairie

Moku Bar, known for its innovative take on the Hawaiian raw fish dish poke, replaces the ramen restaurant at downtown's food hall, Conservatory.

Photo: Gary Coronado, Staff

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Houston bars & restaurants that closed in 2017:

Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen

Location: 12637 Westheimer

Enchilada Queen Sylvia Casaresclosed her original outpost to focus on her two other Houston locations at 6401 Woodway and 1140 Eldridge Pkwy.

Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen

Location: 12637 Westheimer

Enchilada Queen Sylvia Casaresclosed her original outpost to focus on her two other Houston locations at 6401 Woodway and 1140 Eldridge Pkwy.

Photo: Â Tony Bullard 2013, Freelance Photographer

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Oxheart

Location: 1302 Nance

Call this a semi-closing, since chef/owner of the acclaimed restaurant, Justin Yu, closed this concept to re-open as a-la-carte restaurant Theodore Rex.

Oxheart

Location: 1302 Nance

Call this a semi-closing, since chef/owner of the acclaimed restaurant, Justin Yu, closed this concept to re-open as a-la-carte restaurant Theodore Rex.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle

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Houston bars & restaurants that closed in 2017:

Luv Me Tenders

Location: 4400 Yale

The former food truck turned brick-and-mortar chicken spot closed in late February. Fans of the place can still get their fix at the food truck, which is parked at Sassafras, 5022 Pinemont, most nights.

It was announced at the end of May that this Galveston import would be closing, and its parent company is filing for bankruptcy.

Luigi’s Cucina Italiana

Location: 3030 Audley

It was announced at the end of May that this Galveston import would be closing, and its parent company is filing for bankruptcy.

Photo: Erik Witsoe / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm

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Houston bars & restaurants that closed in 2017:

J. Black's Feel Good Kitchen & Lounge

Location: 110 S. Heights Blvd.

After four years in the Washington Corridor location, this Austin-based chain closed its Houston location in early January.

J. Black's Feel Good Kitchen & Lounge

Location: 110 S. Heights Blvd.

After four years in the Washington Corridor location, this Austin-based chain closed its Houston location in early January.

Photo: J. Black's Facebook

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Hurricane Harvey was partly to blame for Liberty Kitchen Garden Oaks shutting its doors in November 2017.

Hurricane Harvey was partly to blame for Liberty Kitchen Garden Oaks shutting its doors in November 2017.

Photo: Jack Thompson

Openings, closings: 2017 was a tumultuous year for Houston restaurants

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The restaurant business in Houston had a tumultuous 2017. It was marked by buzzy openings - Yauatcha, Xochi, Star Fish, One Fifth, Potente, Aqui, Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina and Pappas Delta Blues Smokehouse among them - but might be better remembered for the restaurants we lost.

The year kicked off with strong suggestions that not all was right with the Treadsack group, which in the last days of 2016 closed Foreign Correspondents and Canard bar. It only got worse early in the new year as allegations of financial irregularity forced some of its businesses into Chapter 11; eventually two of the company's bright stars, Bernadine's and Hunky Dory, ranked high on Alison Cook's Top 100 Restaurants list, shuttered.

The first half of the year saw other big closings, too: Up Restaurant went down in January; Ryan Hildebrand's inventive Triniti went dark in February, as did CityCentre's Houston Texans Grille; J. Black's Feel Good Kitchen & Lounge couldn't make a go of it on Washington and closed shop in February; Arthur Ave, from the team at Helen Greek Food and Wine, failed in the Heights in March; Little Liberty in Rice Village also hung up its apron in March; Justin Yu's acclaimed Oxheart served its last meal in March; Añejo in Uptown Park said adios in April; and Sullivan's Steakhouse put a steak knife in operations in May, along with Glass Wall in the Heights.

Hurricane Harvey proved to be a disaster from which some restaurants could not recover. Its immediate flooding doomed downtown's Spaghetti Warehouse. Other downtown flooding victims included Bistro Lancaster at the Lancaster Hotel (still closed), as well as Fusion Taco and La Fisheria; the latter is still struggling to reopen. Midtown's Reef was damaged from a roof leak during Harvey and remains closed, although it should open again soon.

Even after reopening following Harvey, some restaurants experienced a loss of revenue too great to continue. Holley's Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar called it quits in October; Harvey was also partly to blame for Liberty Kitchen Garden Oaks shutting its doors in November; and the rechristened and relaunched Peska Cocina Latina blamed a post-Harvey financial hit as one of the reasons it was forced to close its once-glittering restaurant in the Galleria area in November.

Other 2017 closings included Midtown Barbecue; Skinny Rita's in Montrose; Mascalzone on Shepherd, Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen on Westheimer, Molina's Cantina on Washington, Bosta Kitchen in Museum District, Pappa Charlies in EaDo, Lowbrow in Montrose, Carmelo's on Memorial, SaltAir Seafood Kitchen on Kirby, Amazon Grill in West University, Local Pour in River Oaks and Doc's Motorworks on Westheimer.

But the year ended on a positive note as new restaurants brought some sizzle back to the dining scene. Maison Pucha Bistro lit up the Heights, and Oxbow 7 and Lucienne both confirmed that downtown remains hot. Other big openings included Nancy's Hustle in EaDo, Moxie's Grill & Bar in Galleria, Doris Metropolitan on South Shepherd, Emmaline on West Dallas, Pondi at the Asia Society Texas Center and the money's-no-object Mastro's Steakhouse that Tilman Fertitta opened in his goliath development, The Post Oak. Christmas weekend's debut of taco-fueled honky tonk Goodnight Charlie's put a festive cap on a roller-coaster year - and maybe helped a battered industry two-step its way into 2018.

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